Forecast and studies of the oceanic mixed layer during the mile experiment

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Abstract
Forecasts of the oceanic mixed layer are performed for the MILE experiment. Two differential mixed-layer models are used and compared. One neglects the triple-correlation terms and the other forecasts them. The comparison of the models shows the effects of the higher-order closure on mixed-layer modelling with real data. The forecasts are initiated from data and driven by the experimentally measured, wind stress, radiation and latent and sensible heat flux. The duration of forecasts is from several days to a month. The resultant temperature and velocity profiles are compared against available data. The velocity profiles show stress related amplitudes that oscillate at the inertial frequency. The dissipation function is computed. The results are compared for low and high wind velocities against those of Caldwell and Dillon (1979). A scatter diagram of the integrated dissipation over the mixed-layer depth is computed as a function of friction velocity. The slope of the scatter diagram is compared against the available data of Elliott and Oakey (1979). The exchange of energy between the turbulent, kinetic, and potential energy fields is calculated. The changes in the rate of generation are related to the changes in the rate of the working of the wind. The amount of energy that goes into turbulence is calculated as a function of friction velocity and compared against the assumptions of others such as Garwood (1977).

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